November/December 2017 SDKs

New Upcoming SDKs for iPhone X

Apple introduced a new “Safe Area Layout” that allows iOS 11 apps to adapt themselves to the new design guidelines for iPhone X. This new layout ensures that any compliant UI works seamlessly for all future Apple devices.

Our v6.4.1 native iOS SDK provides UI optimizations for this new layout. With less than 2% of users on iOS 8, we are deprecating support for iOS 8, and shifting our focus to maintaining full compatibility with iOS 9, 10 and 11.

My app still supports iOS 8, what can I do?Helpshift’s native iOS SDK v6.4.1 is our final version that guarantees full compatibility for iOS 8. Subsequent releases in 2018 will no longer be tested on iOS 8. We guarantee core Helpshift functionalities will not change for those users through 2018, as Apple does not release updates for previous iOS versions. This build will be available until the end of 2018, with no updates or changes to it.

What if I use one of Helpshift’s plugins?
All plugins (Unity, Cocos2d-x, Xamarin) for iOS have two different versions you can choose from at the bottom of this article. Our recommendations are the same for these builds. Please subscribe to our SDK Twitter for announcements on their releases.

What is the Helpshift policy on legacy OS support?
Helpshift’s policy on legacy support commits us to maintaining compatibility for two previous versions of each iOS release. Once usage of an older iOS version falls below 5%, we will provide limited support around June of each year. This means that any emergent bugs will be investigated once reported, and any major functionality-breaking bugs will be fixed. However, we cannot guarantee fixes on minor issues due the prioritization of the latest iOS versions.

Time to move to Xcode 9

Helpshift’s native iOS SDK v6.4.1 will need to be implemented using Xcode 9. This is because all of the UI enhancements we are supporting for iPhone X are only available if Xcode 9 is used to build your app.

What can I do if I still need to use Xcode 8?
We understand that some teams may need time to make the transition to Xcode 9. For this reason, we have released native iOS SDK v6.3.1, which supports Xcode 8 and fixes the larger UI issues for iOS 11. We have also archived plugin SDKs (Unity, Cocos2d-x, Xamarin) that contain v6.3.1.

Upcoming Helpshift Unity SDKs will be built on Unity 5.3.0

Helpshift’s Unity SDK v2.9.1 is our last Unity SDK built on Unity 4.7.0. Unity itself has stopped pushing updates for 4.x in 2016, and now that the ecosystem has moved to 5.x, we have decided to do so with our SDK.

Our v3.0.0 Unity SDK is built using Unity 5.3.0. This means that your app will need to use Unity 5.3.0 or above in order to upgrade to this version.

What can I do if I need to keep using Unity 4.x for my next update?
If you still use Unity 4.x, you will be safe to remain on v2.9.1, as long as you keep in mind that this build does not have UI optimizations for iPhone X. Helpshift core functionalities work as expected on iPhone X, and larger UI fixes for iOS 11 will be included.

December 2017 SDK Schedule

Please review the following schedule to know which SDKs you’ll want to download for your next app update.